Naaru
, leader of the Sha'tar naaru of Shattrath City]] The naaru are a dimension-traveling race of sentient energy beings with a deep affinity for the Holy Light of Creation that empowers the paladins of Azeroth. They are bent on stopping the Burning Legion. The naaru blessed the draenei with this power in an effort to help them in their struggle. The name is pronounced "NAH-roo". History When Sargeras and the Burning Legion came to the world of Argus and began corrupting the eredar race, Velen, an eredar leader, prayed for help. The naaru appeared, offering to take Velen and any other like-minded eredar to safety. Velen and his faction accepted and began to call themselves draenei ("Exiled Ones"). The draenei hastily escaped Argus aboard the Dimensional Ship provided for them by the naaru. During the draenei's journey, the enigmatic naaru race blessed them with Light-given knowledge and power. The naaru explained that there were other forces in the cosmos that would stand against the Burning Legion. One day the naaru would forge them into a single unstoppable army of the Light. Deeply affected by the naaru's words, the draenei vowed to honor the Light and uphold the naaru's altruistic ideals. Due to the interests of the Legion, and later certain Azerothians, in Outland, the naaru moved Tempest Keep to Outland for a more direct observation. The Keep was stormed by the Blood Elves, but the Sin'dorei found only a single naaru within the ship. Speculation Technology The dimensional fortress Tempest Keep as well as the Draenei dimensional ship/city The Exodar are examples of naaru technology. It appears that the naaru have advanced knowledge of magic and access to otherworldly materials and reagents that have not been seen in Azeroth. Tempest Keep looks much sleeker than most buildings seen on Azeroth; however the texture slightly resembles that of "Wizard" architecture. The only factual knowledge we have is that Tempest Keep has "automated" defenses such as the ability to fly, and teleport itself and anything in it. It can be overwhelming to the lore considering that these features are usually attributed to the realm of science fiction, but if one looks at it logically it is not so technological after all. The automated defenses are most likely more powerful counterparts of the Arcane Towers built by the Kirin Tor. The Scourge's necropoli (such as Naxxramas) can also fly and move vast distances, so that ability can also be obtained through magic. In short, the goblins or the gnomes are more advanced than the naaru in terms of sheer technology. What the naaru use appear to be actual machines which are almost as advanced as that of the gnomes or goblins. But these are greatly enhanced by deep and powerful magic to the point where they give the illusion of being highly-advanced sci-fi technology. For a contrast, the Cuotl http://riseoflegends.com/worlds/Cuotl_nation.htm in '''Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends' are the reverse: their technology is so advanced it is indistinguishable from magic.'' It's the same sort of starships we're used to, but powered by arcane and Light magic instead of nuclear fusion or dilithium. Biology ]] Naaru appear to be composed of shards of light that may freely move around a central "heart." Naaru are believed to be immortal - in a sense. If their physical form is damaged, it may bleed their energy causing them to enter a "diminished" or "darkened" state in which they are weakened and produce void energies.Quest:When Spirits Speak Directly draining their energy also produces this result. Their energy may take up to one thousand years to regenerate.Quest:Auchindoun... It should be noted that darkened naaru still appear to harbor altruistic intentions, however, their weakened state may be exploited for nefarious purposes, such as creating void minions.Quest:A Secret Revealed It is unknown if this cycle occurs naturally without an external catalyst. Players commonly refer to darkened naaru as "dead." This may be a misnomer; the term has not been used within the Warcraft universe, and they can still communicate and move about while in this state, unlike most beings when they die. If a darkened naaru is slain, all that remains is a single "spark." This spark may be able to regenerate back into a full naaru. It is unknown whether or not the naaru have separate genders. K'ure, A'dal, and M'uru have all been described using the pronoun "he."Quest:A'dalA'dal/Lady Lidarin Scripted Event All three of these beings may be coincidentally male, but it is possible that the naaru are genderless given their lack of any organs comparable to other known beings. The known currently darkened naaru are D'ore, M'uru, and K'ure. Dark or Light? Some players have expressed suspicion of the perceived perfection and altruism of the naaru. Some believe that the naaru have ulterior motives, or there is an undiscovered faction of "dark" naaru. As D'ore himself says, "Without the void, the Light cannot exist." This could be taken to mean that if these Naaru are pure light and good, then there must be a polar opposite - that is, naaru who are as much darkness and evil as the ones we have encountered so far are good and pure. It should be noted that although D'ore is currently a dead naaru, he appears to maintain good intentions. M'uru, now a darkened naaru, will be a boss in Sunwell Plateau. It is not clear if he is now "evil," or simply a darkened naaru who's weakened state has been exploited by Kil'jaeden or Kael'thas. Factions and locations There are various naaru factions in-game, some of which you can earn reputation with. Current factions: *Draenei - Naaru of the Exodar. *Sha'tar - Naaru of Shattrath City. , locked in place by a channeled drain spell]] There is also an abducted naaru within Silvermoon named M'uru, who is held captive by channeling blood elf sorcerers. This naaru is the source behind the Blood Knights (blood elf paladins) who seek light from the naaru. At Kael'thas Sunstrider's signal the elves stormed the dimensional fortress, quickly defeating its automated defenses and claiming its satellite structures. The only real threat the elves discovered was a lone naaru who had stayed behind to maintain the keep's defenses. With some difficulty, Kael'thas subdued the energy being and sent it to Quel'Thalas so that the magic-addicted blood elves could feed upon it. Back in the capital city of Silvermoon, Magister Astalor Bloodsworn was not content with this idea. After long months of study and experimentation, he and his fellow wizards learned how to manipulate and corrupt the naaru's luminous energies. In the end, the wizards devised a process by which the powers of the Light could be transferred to recipients who had not earned such abilities. Instead of feeding upon the naaru's magic, the blood elves would wield the naaru's Light-given powers themselves. Known Naaru Notes *Speculation on the origins of the naaru suggest that perhaps they were allies of Sargeras when he was still fighting evil. Perhaps Sargeras recruited these beings to aid him in his struggle, but later betrayed them when he was corrupted by evil. *There has been speculation that they are somehow related to the (non-titan) gods of Azeroth, such as Elune. The Warcraft Encyclopedia confirms that while Elune is a true goddess, neither the titans nor the naaru are gods. This does not preclude a connection with Elune, just that She is not one of them. *With the revelation that Khadgar and the Expedition have been fighting the Legion alongside the naaru, it is highly probable that the Alliance and the Horde are the precursors of the "army of the Light" the naaru promised the draenei would be a part of. *The naaru act in a similar manner to the angels of earth mythology and religion. See Myth for more information. *"Naru" means "River God" in Babylonian. References External links Category:Burning Crusade Category:Naaru Category:Lore Category:Outland Category:Uncategorized Creatures Category:Creatures